The X-Kid Army
by Lydiarose80
Summary: Green Day becomes trapped in New York City when a psychopath named Mad Max takes over. They form the X-Kid Army to save the city and regain control! Billie Joe Armstrong. Mike Dirnt. Tre Cool. Adrienne Armstrong. Gerard Way.
1. Ch-1 Watching the Clock Tick

**a/n sorry this chapter is ****_extremely _****short, the rest will be much longer! Please review :)**

Billie was bored. Not the kind of bored you get when you have something to do and you're just waiting around, the kind of bored you get when you don't think you're going to do anything ever again. Life in the sewer was boring. Tre and Mike were arguing again and making a lot of fucking noise. Mike had taken the last pack of Oreos, and was eating them while comfortably situated on the pipes out of Tre's reach.

"Mike! Gimme those!" Tre yelled, as he scrambled around beneath him. "That's not fair, you're the only one who's tall enough to reach the pipes!"

"Sucks for you now, doesn't it?" Mike said, nonchalantly while popping another Oreo in his mouth.

"Don't even tell me that was the last one..." Tre growled.

"Okay, I won't." Mike said, and tossed the empty package down.

"I'm gonna kill you! C'mere you motherfucker!" Tre yelled, while desperately trying to grab at Mike's dangling legs. Mike laughed and swung them casually, just out of Tre's reach. Billie had had enough of this nonsense.

"Shut up, you two!" He yelled, as he walked over to them. "It's bad enough that we've been holed up in a sewer for two months, hiding from the fucking Secret Police that now run New York, you don't need to fight about Oreos!" Tre looked horrified.

"But Billie, it was the _last one_." He said.

"Who gives a shit?!" Billie said, bewildered that something as trivial as cookies could cause such a loud argument. "You guys are unbelievably loud."

"So what? We're fifty feet beneath civilization!" Tre said.

"Yeah, but your voices carry down here. And besides," said Billie, looking up towards the sewer grate, "you never know who could be listening."


	2. Ch-2 She's a Rebel Vigilante

Adrienne darted across the street, accidentally stepping in a puddle beside a sewer grate. The dirty water splashed all over her sneakers and her camo pants.

"Damn it." She muttered to herself. She pressed herself up against the side of a building and peered around the corner. She saw one of Mad Max's Freakshow Clowns pacing back and forth, calmly. As if she wasn't afraid of clowns already, this one had a massive gun in his white-gloved hands. He was clearly not paying attention, however, so she signaled for Scout to run across the street and join her.

Scout was like a little sister to her. She had found the fifteen year old hiding out in an abandoned factory. Her family had been murdered by a group of Freakshow Clowns. Her father, a journalist, had been writing about the evil atrocities committed by Mad Max and his Freakshow Army. They came to his house the night after he published the paper, and slaughtered him along with the rest of Scout's family. Scout only survived because she had accidentally fallen asleep on the couch in her basement, and the Freaks never even knew she was there. After hearing her story, Adrienne realized how much this girl needed her. Two months had gone by, and they had really become sisters.

Scout followed Adrienne's lead and ran across the street, although she avoided the puddle.

"Adie, this is such a bad idea." Scout whispered nervously, running a hand through her short, curly hair. Adrienne was really wishing her hair was short these days, it was a nightmare to take care of without having running water everyday. It had started to look like dreads, and at this point, she had stopped caring and just thrown it in a ponytail.

"Nonsense! It's always a good idea to piss off Mad Max!" Adrienne said, grinning.

"Everyone else is wearing prison jumpsuits or clown costumes, we're gonna stick out like a sore thumb!" Scout protested.

"Scout, we have to remind people that they can fight Freakshow, and that there's people out there, like us, who are still free! And not everyone is dressed like that, some of the clowns are wearing suits." Adrienne said. Scout rolled her eyes. "Just help me put up this poster!"

"Fine." Scout muttered.

The two began to put up the giant "Down with the Madness" poster, well as giant as they could make it with little to no resources. Suddenly, a clown across the street turned towards their direction and saw them.

"Street Rats!" He yelled, and started running at them. 'Street Rats was the lovely term for anyone who lived in New York City who wasn't under Mad Max and the Freakshow's control, or in their prisons. Street Rats were the people who had survived and were still free.

"Run!" Adrienne screamed. She and Scout took off down the street. By now, the other clowns had seen or heard them and were starting to chase after them as well. The girls continued down the street and ducked into an alley.

"Quick!" Adrienne said, as they ran toward the end of the alley.

"What do we do now?!" Scout wailed as they reached a fence blocking the end of the alley. Adrienne knew it would take too long to try to climb the fence, but the surrounding boxes and dumpsters would be much easier to scale.

"Follow me." Adrienne said. The two girls scrambled over the fence in record time. "Down here." She said, and lifted a manhole cover, scraping the heavy metal across the ground. Scout climbed down the ladder, followed by Adrienne, who closed the cover after her. Knowing they couldn't go back up with the Clowns looking for them, they descended down the ladder into the darkness.


	3. Ch-3 Wasteland I Like to Call My Home

**A/N please review so I know if anyone's reading this story or not :(**

Billie, Mike, and Tre sat in the middle of their food supply, facing each other. Mike had been forgiven and was allowed to come down from the pipes without suffering bodily harm at the hands of Tre. The three guys were now sharing a bag of chips.

They pretty much had it made down in the sewer. There were electrical outlets made originally so workmen could plug in their power tools. They had stolen some mattresses and blankets from an abandoned house whose owners were still missing, and had probably been snatched in the middle of the night by a few of Max's Clowns. They had even managed to get a refrigerator up and running in their hidden home. The best part was that they were completely under Mad Max's radar. He and his creepy crew of clowns had no idea that they were down there. The guys all wished they could tell someone, and maybe have others come live with them, but as far as they knew, there were no others. Their families were far away in California. Everyone else in the city was either imprisoned or dead. They only time they ever left the sewer was to to steal supplies, and they had never seen anyone besides the Clowns.

"Is it me, or does it not smell down here anymore?" Mike asked.

"Well, if everyone's in prison then the only smelly water would be coming from their pipes. Other than that, I don't think the sewer's really being used." Billie answered.

"Either that, or we're all just used to the stink." Tre said, pointing at Mike.

"Hey! I smell lovely!" Mike exclaimed.

"You haven't showered in two days!" Tre yelled.

"There's no way to tell if the water down here is clean!"

"Either it smells, or it doesn't. BATHE!" Tre retorted, bitterly.

"You're supposed to be nice to me today." Mike said, sadly.

"Why?" Tre asked.

"It's my birthday!" Mike said, hurt that they had forgotten. "Billie! How could _you_ forget, we've been best friends since we were ten!" He yelled. Billie grinned.

"I didn't forget. Here." He said and tossed him a pack of cigarettes.

"Gee thanks. 'Happy Birthday, smoke these and it might be the last one you ever have." Mike said, laughing.

"There's a cooler present over by your mattress." Billie said.

"You're the best, man." Mike said, happy that someone actually remembered his birthday.

"Well, I can sing happy birthday!" Tre shouted, frantically. "Happy Birthday to you-" he began to sing loudly.

"On that out of tune note, I'm gonna take a walk." Billie said. He grabbed a flashlight and headed towards one of the tunnels, while Tre continued his song.


	4. Ch-4 We're Not Alone

Adrienne and Scout reached the bottom of the ladder. They jumped down and stared down the dark tunnels, broken up here and there by beams of light from the surface.

"Which way should we go?" Scout asked, quietly.

"Umm... This way." Adrienne said, and pointed towards a long, nearly completely dark, tunnel.

"You don't know." Scout said, laughing.

"No, I do not, but I'm older, so we're doing it my way." Adrienne stated and headed down the tunnel, while Scout followed obediently. The girls wandered for nearly an hour. They turned down separate tunnels countless times, and could've sworn they were walking in circles.

"Adie, we're lost." Scout said, exasperated.

"No, we- we just need to find-" Adrienne began.

"Adrienne! We've passed this spot twice already!"

"You don't know that!" Adrienne snapped. Suddenly, both girls spun around in different directions towards the sound of footsteps. The sound was distorted and disorienting because of the echoes. Adrienne grabbed Scout's hand and ran down a tunnel. She turned a corner sharply, and found herself face to face with a pair of bright green eyes.

"Ahh!" Adrienne screamed.

"Whoa!" The eyes screamed back. She turned to run the other way, when she heard a voice.

"Wait!" A boy in his early twenties stepped out of the shadows. He was small and pale with jet black hair. "I don't want to hurt you!" He said, holding his hands up in a surrendering position.

"Who are you?" Adrienne asked nervously, still standing in front of Scout.

"I'm Billie, I live down here." The boy, Billie, said. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Adrienne." She said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Pretty." He said. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Your name, I mean." He said blushing. "And who's the little one?" Billie asked, nodding curiously at Scout.

"Scout." The fifteen year old mumbled.

"Nice to meet you guys!" He said, smiling.

"Don't know if I can say the same about you." Adrienne said, cautiously.

"Oh my God, I'm not gonna hurt you! How can I prove it to you?" He said, exasperated.

"Lead us outta here?" Adrienne asked, after thinking it over.

"Sure." Billie said. "Follow me." He turned around and pulled a flashlight out of his pocket. "So how'd you two end up down here?"

"Um, we took a left, then a right after we passed-" Adrienne began.

"No, a right, then a left." Scout cut in.

"Oh yeah, a ri-"

"I meant in the sewer." Billie laughed.

"Oh. We were running from the Clowns." said Adrienne.

"You escaped? Why aren't you wearing prison jumpsuits?" He said, turning to look at them.

"We weren't in prison." Adrienne said, confused. Billie stopped dead in his tracks.

"You were _free_?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah? We're not the only ones." Adrienne said, laughing.

"What?!" Billie exclaimed, "We've been up to the surface a bunch of times and we've never seen anyone!"

"That's kind of the point." Adrienne laughed.

"Oh... That would make sense."

"You said 'we" Adrienne said, quietly.

"What?" Billie asked.

"Before, you said "We've been up to the surface" who's we?" She asked.

"Oh, my two best friends live down here too, Mike and Tre." He answered.

"That's it? Only three people in all of New York know about this place?" She asked, shocked.

"Five now." He said, smiling. He reached a ladder. "Well, here we are."

"All right," Adrienne said, grinning. "I guess I can trust you."

"Absolutely." He said, laughing.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Billie." She said, sticking her hand out for a handshake, even though she really left like hugging him for being so kind.

"You too, Adrienne." He said, accepting her handshake. "Wait," he said, still holding onto her hand.

"Yes?" She questioned, glancing down at her hand.

"Can I... come with you?" He said.

"What?"

"Is it all right if I come with you guys to the surface, I mean, you're the first people aside from my friends and the Clowns that I've seen in months."

"Scout, what do you think?" Adrienne said, looking at the girl who'd been quiet the entire journey.

"Sure, why not?" Scout said.

"Great!" Billie exclaimed. "Wait right here, I just gotta go tell my friends!"

"Wait, what?!" Adrienne yelled after him.

"It'll take two seconds! Wait here!" He said, running off into the darkness, and leaving Adrienne and Scout confused and staring at each other.


	5. Ch-5 I'm Speechless and Redundant

** A/N I just can't seem to get the damn spacing down. But anyways please keep reviewing it would mean so much! i love feedback :)**

Billie ran quickly down the tunnels towards the open area where he and his friends were camped out. He could barely contain his excitement, especially considering he hadn't had any in the past two months. He just couldn't believe that there were still free people in New York City. Finally, he reached the center of the sewage tunnels. This was the area with the most open space. It was also the most well-lit area in the entire sewer. It did have a massive amount of water running through the middle of it, though.

"Hey guys!" Billie yelled. Neither Mike, nor Tre responded. "Hey!" He tried again. They couldn't hear him over the sound of the rushing water. Suddenly, Mike turned to grab his new bass guitar (Billie's present) and saw Billie running towards them. He grinned and waved. Billie waved back, and signaled for them to come over by the mattresses where it was quieter.

"What's up, Beej?" Mike asked.

"Nothing, um I gotta go to the surface." Billie said, running a hand through his hair, nervously.

"What? Why?" Mike said, concerned.

"We need..." Tre and Mike stared at him. "...eggs." Billie finished, lamely.

"Eggs?" Tre asked. "We have like fifty of them!"

"We need more."

"No man can eat fifty eggs!" Tre exclaimed.

"I'll be back." Billie said, not offering any more random explanations. He wanted to get the fuck out of here before he said anything else that didn't make sense.

"We'll come with you." Mike said, starting to stand up.

"NO!" Billie yelled. Mike sat back down, staring at him. "Uh, no it's fine. I really just need some fresh air, y'know?"

"Okay..." Mike said cautiously, looking at Tre, who shrugged.

"I'll be right back." Billie said. Tre seemed to accept his answer, but Mike looked worried. "I promise." Billie reassured him.

He nodded and said, "Well you better hurry up then, Billie Joe, cause we have some serious birthday drinking to do when you get back!" Billie grinned.

"Oh, I know. Don't worry I'll be back in time for that. I promise." He said again. He turned around and started heading back the way he had come, taking extra care not to get lost. He didn't want to waste any time, he was afraid Adrienne would leave without him. He didn't want to lose the first friend he had made in months, but he still felt bad lying to Tre and Mike. It just felt wrong. _I'll tell them as soon as I can. They'll understand._ He reassured himself. He continued walking until he finally saw Adrienne and Scout by the ladder.


	6. Ch-6 I'm in For Nasty Weather

**A/N please review, I'm starting to lose faith in this story :/**

Adrienne and Scout waited patiently for Billie to return. They sat in the dark, alone, and still a bit frightened. It was hard to shake the constant fear, and the need to look over one's shoulder all the time. Especially after today. This was the closest they'd come to being captured in a long time. Adrienne couldn't help but feel guilty for putting Scout in danger. She didn't mention it however, knowing that Scout would only try to deflect the blame onto herself. She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of footsteps running towards them. Finally, Billie reappeared out of the dark.

"All right, sorry about that, I'm back now." He said between breaths.

"It's okay, I was afraid you were gonna bring them back with you." Adrienne said.

"Oh, my friends you mean?" Billie said, after realizing who she was talking about. "They're harmless."

"They probably are." She said, smiling. "But meeting new people isn't exactly my favorite thing to do."

"Why not? I was pretty excited to meet you guys!" Billie said, confused.

"Let's just say that not everyone who's still free is good." Adrienne said, and followed Scout up the ladder. Billie nodded even though he had no fucking idea what she meant by that. They clambered up the ladder until Scout came to the stop. Adrienne was about to help her, when Scout just lifted the manhole cover and shoved it aside. Billie and Adrienne just looked at each other.

"Stronger than she looks." Billie commented. Adrienne laughed and nodded. They both climbed out of the sewer, carefully. They immediately followed Scout, who had ducked into an alley. Adrienne walked closely behind her, while Billie trailed behind, looking back to make sure no one saw them. Suddenly, a scream rang out above them.

"EEEAAAAHHH!" A boy with fluorescent red hair jumped off a fire escape and onto Billie. Adrienne and Scout screamed and ran over to them. They struggled for a moment, until Billie pinned the tall redhead up against the wall.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Billie demanded.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I thought you were following them!" He pointed at Scout and Adrienne. "I see them together all the time, I didn't realize they knew you were there!" Billie relaxed a little, taking his hands off the boy.

"I guess I did look a little sketchy." He said. The boy, who looked to be in his late teens, grinned.

"Wait, you look familiar." Adrienne said. "What's your name?"

"Gerard." The boy answered.

"Oh, I remember you now! They had posters of you up all over the city after you beat the shit out of a Clown." Adrienne said, grinning.

"Oh yeah!" Scout said, her face lighting up as she remembered. "That was awesome! How'd you get away?"

"I actually ran right up here." He said, pointing to the fire escape."Those dumbasses just ran right on by."

"Fucking idiots." Billie said, laughing.

"So...you guys just kind of appeared out of nowhere." Gerard said, changing the subject. "Where did you come from?" He asked, curiously. Adrienne looked at Billie, not wanting to give his secret home away. He just nodded at her, and gave her a thumbs up, as if to say Gerard could be trusted.

"The sewer." She said. Gerard wrinkled his nose.

"Gross!" He said. She laughed.

"It's not that bad actually. Billie's been living down there for a while." She said. Billie nodded.

"Well, why don't you guys stay somewhere above ground for tonight?" He said, gesturing at the building behind them. Adrienne and Scout shrugged.

"Ah, I can't." Billie said, awkwardly.

"Why not?" Adrienne asked.

"Come on!" Gerard said.

"It's just, y'know, my friends will be wondering where I am." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It'll be a nice change of scenery for you! If they're real friends, they'll understand!" Gerard said, putting an arm around him.

"I guess you're right." Billie said, glancing back towards the way they'd come. "_I hope you're right." _He thought, as he followed Gerard and the others into the building.


	7. Ch-7 A Loner in a Catastrophic Mind

Mike and Tre sat alone in the sewer. Tre was going about his usual antics, banging on the walls, floor, and various pots. Always making a new beat and smiling the entire time. He occasionally played air guitar and bass as well. As the day dragged on, however, he began to stop. Even _he_ was worried. They both knew that something was up. Mike paced back and forth, nervously biting his nails and running his hands through his hair

"Dirnt." Tre said. Mike continued pacing. "Dirnt." He tried again. Still nothing. "DIRNT!" He yelled, and threw the spoon he'd been using as a drumstick.

"What? Sorry I thought you were pretending to play the bass again." Mike answered, distractedly.

"You all right?" Tre asked. Mike shook his head.

"He should _be here_ by now, it's getting dark." He said, gesturing towards the tunnels, which no longer had beams of light beating down.

"Who? Billie Joe?" Tre asked, watching Mike pace. He stopped and turned to look at him.

"Wha-yes! Who else would I be-" Tre stared at him, innocently. "Yes, Billie Joe should be back." Mike said, after taking a deep breath.

"You think something happened to him?" Tre asked. Mike could see the fear in his eyes.

"I don't know." He said, looking towards the tunnels.

"Should we go look for him?" Tre said, following Mike's gaze.

"We can't now, it's too fucking dark, we'll never find him." Mike said, throwing his hands up, exasperated. He began to pace once again.

"So what do we do now?" Asked Tre. Mike turned to look at him.

"We wait."

"Wait right here." Gerard said. Adrienne, Scout, and Billie sat against some old crates. They had entered what appeared to had been an old printing press. It had clearly been abandoned years before Mad Max took over. There were cobwebs everywhere, but Billie had to admit, it was cleaner than the sewer. He had plopped down next to Adrienne, who was trying to fix her hair.

"So Adrienne, " he said. "Are you from around here?" He asked, leaning back against a crate.

"New York?" He nodded. "No I'm from Minnesota, actually." She answered, smiling warmly. He hadn't noticed how pretty she was until they'd been out in the light, earlier.

"Minnesota?" He said, raising his eyebrows. "Shit, that's a long way from here." She nodded. "Isn't your state bird like a fucking mosquito?" He said, laughing. She grinned.

"It should be!" She said, laughing. Gerard returned, holding blankets and pillows.

"Okay! So, my friends said it's totally cool if you guys stay here." Gerard said.

"Friends?" Adrienne squeaked, her brown eyes growing wide.

"Yeah! Why don't you guys come meet them!" He said, smiling. Adrienne stared at him.

"She doesn't like meeting new people." Billie said, when he realized Adrienne wasn't going to answer.

"Oh, well maybe tomorrow then." Gerard said, handing her a pillow. She nodded gratefully. Under normal circumstances, Billie would've found her antisocial behavior funny. But he couldn't imagine what she'd been through. Living on the streets wasn't like living in the sewer. They could joke around in the sewer, and be as loud as they wanted. They didn't have to watch their backs all the time, or worry about whether or not people could be trusted. Life up here was dangerous. Billie wondered if maybe there was a way he could change that.


	8. Ch-8 Got a Head Full of Lead

Billie woke up to a raucous of pots and pans clashing. Gerard was parading around, slamming them together, and yelling nonsense at the top of his lungs. Billie groggily tried to get up, but stopped when he realized Adrienne's arm was waywardly strewn over his ribcage. He smiled to himself as he gently moved it, thinking that Adrienne had rolled over in her sleep. He didn't mind. He stretched and got to his feet, stiffly. He rubbed his neck, which was sore, despite the pillows. Sleeping on a mattress every night had really spoiled him, and he knew it. Especially considering the fact that he felt like the Tin Man after a rainy day.

"WAKE UP NEW FRIENDS!" Gerard bellowed at Adrienne's sleeping form. Finally, she began to stir. Scout must've already been awake, Billie realized, as she was sitting on a crate across the room, watching the scene before them play out. She smiled at Billie, who waved with one hand, while trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes with the other.

"Wha- What's going on?" Adrienne mumbled, sleepily.

"It's breakfast time!" Gerard exclaimed, cheerfully. "Also, time for you to meet my friends, if you're up for it." He looked at her, trying to gage what kind of response he might get. Adrienne just nodded and yawned, obviously too tired to realize what she'd just agreed to. Billie stifled a laugh, thinking of the shit show that was undoubtedly waiting for them in the other room. If Gerard's friends were anything like him, Billie, Scout, and Adrienne were in for a crazy morning. Gerard turned and headed into the other room, motioning for them to follow.

"Oh shit!" Adrienne said, her hand flying to her forehead. Billie and Scout laughed. She pulled her hand away, and held it against her mouth.

"It'll be fine." Billie said. She looked at him, her dark brown eyes connecting with his bright green ones. "I promise." He said, grinning. She merely nodded in consent. They followed Gerard's lead. They entered the room and Billie's jaw dropped. He had been expecting two, maybe three people at most. Instead, at least ten pairs of eyes stared back at him from inside the dimly lit room.

"All right everyone, this is Billie, Adrienne, and Scout." Gerard said. "And _this_," he said to the three of them, "is Jake, Christian, Taylor, Brittney, Patrick, Jimmy, Brea, Luke, Damon, and my brother, Mikey. My little brother, even though he's tall as fuck." Billie nodded at the shy-looking younger boy with glasses. He smiled politely at everybody else, knowing that there was no way in hell he'd remember those names. Adrienne looked as though she might die of fright. Scout, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed.

"Okay, who wants breakfast?" Gerard asked.

"ME!" Shouted Jake, the tall, dark-haired boy to Billie's left.

"No! I do!" Christian, a well built boy of around the same age, yelled. "Me first!" He insisted, his shaggy sand-colored hair falling in his face as he jumped on top of Jake, putting a hand over his mouth. Billie smiled at their lack of maturity despite their age. They reminded him of Tre. _'Fuck, Tre!' _Billie thought. He had completely forgotten that he really didn't have time for all this shit._'Well whatever, I'm sure it'll be a quick breakfast. Probably just protein bars and cereal or something like_ _that.' _He thought to himself. He was wrong.

After following the others into what must've been an old editor's office, he was met with a stack of waffles nearly three feet high. He stared, open-mouthed, at stacks of pancakes, both chocolate chip and blueberry, along with plates filled with bacon, sausage, and toast. There was syrup, butter, jam, coffee, and fruit. Fucking fruit, for Christ's sake! Billie looked over at Adrienne, who looked just as shocked as he was. Gerard reappeared, wearing an apron and holding a spatula.

"So how do you guys like your eggs?" He asked.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Mike was twitching and sweating. He mumbled to himself as images of Billie being dragged off and beaten by Clowns flashed through his mind. He watched, helpless, as they threw his best friend to the ground and raised a gun to his head. _'No!'_ Mike tried to yell, but nothing came out. A sharp crack pierced the air. Mike snapped back into reality.

"Billie!" he yelled, as he sat up. He looked around and realized he was still in the sewer. _'A dream,'_ he thought, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair. _'It was just a dream.' _He looked around as he stood up, his legs still a little shaky. He had fallen asleep by the ladder, waiting for Billie Joe to return. He noticed his flashlight on the ground. _'Fuck, was that on all night?'_ He wondered, as he bent over to pick it up. He pressed the button. Nothing happened.

"Damn it." He hissed under his breath. He began the long walk back to the mattresses, hoping desperately that Billie might've found a way to slip by him last night. But he knew in the back of his mind that Billie wasn't going to be down there. After awhile, he made his way back. His black-haired friend was nowhere to be found. He glanced over at Tre, who was snoring loudly. He felt sympathy for the auburn-haired boy, who had fallen asleep on Billie's bed. He knew that even though Tre had an odd way of showing it, he was worried about his missing friend, too.

"Hey." Mike said, nudging the sleeping drummer. Tre looked at him, but Mike could tell he wasn't really seeing him. "Get up." Tre nodded, and seemed to understand as he drifted back into the present.

"What are we doing?" Tre asked.

"We're going to find Billie." Mike answered, handing him a jacket.

Twenty minutes later, the two guys were gently closing the manhole cover, and praying that nobody saw them.

"Where do you think he would've went?" Tre asked.

"Fuck, ugh, I don't know." Mike said, looking around desperately for some sign of him. _'Damn it, Billie, where did you go?' _He wondered.

"Shit." Tre said, suddenly. He pointed across the street. Mike turned to look over his shoulder, and saw not one, but three Clowns racing after them.

"RUN!" Mike yelled, grabbing his friend by the shirt. They sprinted down an alley.

"Shitshitshit." Tre said, holding his head.

"Shh!" Mike whispered. "Up the fire escape." He said, and pointed. Tre nodded, and the two boys began to climb quickly. Mike tried to open an old window, but it wouldn't budge. He leaned on it, and using all his strength, gave it one final shove. It wrenched open with a loud creak. He and Tre climbed inside. They closed the window and watched the Clowns from the safety of the building. Mike had barely breathed a sigh of relief, when a loud crash and a scream rang out behind them. Both men whipped around in time to see a young girl with black dreadlocks bolt from the room.

"No, wait!" Mike yelled.

"Come back!" Tre said, as they began to run after her. She had run down the hallway and straight into a boy with jet-black hair.

"Adrienne! What's wrong, are you okay?!" He said, pulling back from her embrace to look at her. That's when Mike got a good look at his face.

"BILLIE?!" He practically screamed. Billie's head snapped up.

"Mike?!" He yelled, running over to them, nearly dragging the hysterical girl along with him. "How did you find me?!"

"Jesus Christ, Bill, I thought you were dead!" Mike said, hugging him. Relief washed over him at the sight of his best friend, unharmed.

"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" he began.

"BILLIE!" Tre yelled and bear-hugged him. Mike laughed, and noticed the black-haired girl trying to regain her composure.

"Sorry if we scared you." He said to her. She smiled.

"It's fine, I just wasn't really expecting anyone to be up there at all, let alone breaking in." She said, laughing despite the tear streaks on her face.

"Yeah, and then we chased you, that probably wasn't our best idea." He said, sheepishly.

"Oh yeah. I dropped my glass on the way out, I hope you didn't step on it." She said, looking worried.

"Nah, we're fine." Mike said, grinning.

"Okay, Tre, I get it. I missed you too, buddy." Billie said, struggling to breathe under Tre's death grip. Finally, he released the singer, who gasped for air. Mike and Adrienne laughed.

"So guys, this is Adrienne." Billie said, gesturing to the petite girl beside him. "Adrienne, this is Mike and Tre." He said, pointing. They smiled at her. "And if you guys will come with me, there's a few other people I'd like you to meet." He said, grinning mischievously. Mike looked at Tre, who shrugged. The four of them, led by Billie, began to head down the stairs.


	9. Ch-9 Fill Your Head With Schemes

**A/N sorry for the delay, I have been extremely busy lately. Please review! **

"Gerard!" Billie yelled, as he and his friends clattered down the stairs.

"Billie!" Gerard yelled back, cheerfully.

"Remember those friends that I was talking about yesterday?" He asked, coming around the corner and facing Gerard.

"Yes..." Gerard said, cautiously.

"They're here!" Billie said, beaming. Mike and Tre emerged from the staircase around the corner, followed by Adrienne, who had completely regained her composure.

"Holy shit!" Mike said, gaping at the large group of people.

"Yeah, I know, there's a lot of 'em." Billie said.

"Hi!" Gerard said. "Who in the hell are you?" He grinned.

"Uh, well I'm Mike and this is Tre." Mike said.

"I can introduce myself, you ignorant slut!" Tre said, causing everyone to burst out in laughter. Billie realized how much he had missed Tre in the past day or so. Any awkwardness that was there before had now completely dissolved. Gerard's friends began to get up and introduce themselves. He watched Mike politely nod at everyone, while Tre on the other hand, was dramatically bowing and kissing the girls' hands. He smiled to himself, and offered a shrug at Adrienne, who was laughing and shaking her head. He noticed that Brittney and Brea seemed to gravitate towards her. He'd seen them talking during breakfast. She smiled, and walked back to the table with them, and just before she was out of earshot, Billie heard her laugh. He was glad to see that she was finally starting to relax.

"Billie!" His head snapped in the direction of the voice. Gerard waved at him.

"Yes?" He said, walking over.

"I think we need to discuss our predicament." Gerard said. Billie laughed a bit at his word choice, but nodded.

"Why don't we go in here?" He said, pointing to a room just down the hall.

"Sure." Gerard said, and followed him. Mike and Tre hung back, awkwardly. "You guys coming or what?" Gerard said, looking back at them. They nodded and followed obediently. He shut the door behind them, instantly blocking out the chatter of their new friends.

"So, if we're all gonna live here, then we need to take some serious precautions." Gerard said. Billie noticed that he had an odd way of speaking, not a lisp exactly, but there was something distinctive about it.

"Yeah, I agree. I mean, I think we'll all fit, but we need to find a way to protect ourselves." A loud crash of plates on the floor sounded in the other room. "And maybe a way to keep the noise down."

"Speaking of Ways, where the fuck is my brother?" Gerard said, looking around.

"You didn't tell him to come in here." Mike said, stifling a laugh.

"Oh shit, you're right." He opened the door behind them. "MICHAEL! GET YOUR LANKY ASS IN HERE!" He yelled.

"Why do you always have to be so loud?" Mikey said, once he entered the room.

"To compensate for your silence." Gerard answered, logically. "Anyways, we were saying that we need to protect ourselves and our new friends."

"We need to get our hands on some guns." Billie said.

"Definitely. We should just take 'em from the fucking Clowns, they don't use them." Mike said. "Wait, why _don't _they use them? They could've easily shot me and Tre on our way here, but they didn't."

"They won't shoot if they don't have to." Gerard said.

"Really? They don't strike me as the compassionate type." Billie said, confused.

"Oh believe me, they're not. They'd much rather take you alive, though. Torture you and shit, make you into one of them."

"Shit, I'd _rather_ be dead." Billie scoffed.

"Me too." Mikey agreed. He then turned to face his brother. "But why did you bring me in here?" He asked.

"Because you're smart, and we're gonna need your help planning this shit out." Gerard said, putting an arm around him.

"Gee, don't start planning stuff without telling everyone, it's not fair to them." Gerard let out a petulant sigh,

"Fine." Mikey smiled at him. "But not till tomorrow, I think they've had enough excitement for one day."

"All right, well since that's all settled, can I go play now?" Tre joked. Gerard laughed and opened the door for him, swinging his arms dramatically. They all left the room, and returned to the noisiness down the hall, in the main room.

Everyone was sitting at the long table, which spanned the length of the room. Everyone except for Luke and Jimmy. They were off in the corner, talking and looking at everyone else, almost contemptuously. Billie's smile faded as he watched them. There was something unnerving about their behavior, he just got a weird feeling around them. He chose to ignore it, however, as he heard Adrienne and Brittney erupt in a fit of giggles. Brea was just smiling, leading Billie to believe she was the cause of their laughter. Scout just grinned. She was a quiet girl, Billie realized. He turned his attention back to Adrienne. She was practically glowing, and looked genuinely happy to have finally made some friends. Billie smiled. He could get used to this place.


	10. Ch 10- 99 Revolutions Tonight

**A/N I am so terribly sorry for the wait, I'm always so busy in the summer but I PROMISE I will not give up in this story. Please keep reviewing!**

Adrienne woke up early, and for the first time in months, felt safe. For once, her heart maintained a steady pace, instead of racing. There was no jolt of adrenaline, no urgent need to wake up Scout, who was sleeping peacefully beside her. She could relax. She sat up and stretched, trying not to make any noise in moving the scratchy blankets against the floor. It was nice to have blankets. Adrienne yawned, and looked around to see if anyone else was up.

Gerard looked over at her out of one eye, and grumbled some sort of a greeting before rolling over and going back to sleep. She grinned and started to get up, taking care not to step on Scout. She made her way out of the room they slept in, down to the hallway by the staircase. She headed up the stairs and crashed right into Jimmy. She felt a searing hot liquid run down her arm.

"Shit!" Jimmy yelled, dropping what was left of his cup of coffee. He shook his burnt fingers and looked down at the dark stain forming on his shirt.

"I'm so sorry!" Adrienne began.

"It's fine." He muttered, picking up the coffee cup. He brushed past her angrily. Suddenly, he turned around, and asked, as if in an afterthought; "You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Adrienne said, quietly. He nodded and continued down the stairs. She stared after him for a moment, thoroughly confused, until she accidentally brushed her stinging arm. _'Fuck'_ she thought. She headed back up the stairs to the bathroom to rinse her arm.

When she returned to the bottom of the stairs, after taking care to look out for any more angry coffee drinkers, she saw Billie and Scout waiting for her. Scout smiled at her, it was the first genuine smile she'd seen from Scout in awhile. Billie, on the other hand, never seemed to stop smiling. She wondered what made him so happy all the time. Not that she was complaining, it was nice to have a little positive energy back in her life.

"Morning!" Billie said, flashing her a toothy grin.

"Good morning." Adrienne said, returning the smile as best she could.

"Hey! All o' you!" Gerard bellowed. "Before we have breakfast, there's something we gotta talk about."

"What?!" Christian exclaimed. "Can't we do it after breakfast?"

"No, and don't gimme that look." Gerard said, pointing at Christian's pouting puppy-dog face.

"Ha! Sucks for you, fatass." Jake remarked, earning him a punch in the arm from Christian. Everyone filed into the "dining room" and sat at the long table.

"Okay, so our new friend, Billie, has a great idea that I think he would like to share." Gerard said.

"Uhh, what?" Billie asked, startled. He obviously didn't realize he was going to be making some kind of a speech to a group of people he barely knew.

"Come on," Gerard urged him to the front of the room. He nodded numbly, and walked over to him. He felt himself blush as everyone stared. His palms were sweating. He took a deep breath and suddenly felt relaxed.

"All right, I think- actually, I _know_ that we need to protect ourselves from these weirdos that took over the city. I don't wanna just lay down and die if they find us, I want to fight. And I know that I haven't known you guys for too long, but I think you want to fight, too."

Everyone at the table began to nod in agreement, and a murmur of support sounded throughout them. Christian let out a small "Woo!"

"Good, because I think our best option is to steal their guns. And if we're gonna make that happen," he said, pointing to Gerard, "We're gonna need your help."

"How the hell is that gonna work?" Luke interjected.

"Yeah, I mean we can't exactly march up to their headquarters and take them." Jimmy agreed.

"Actually, we can." Mikey said, standing up from his spot toward the end of the table.

"Ah! You planned something!" Gerard said, beaming. "I knew you would! You said you wouldn't, but you _did!_" Mikey looked embarrassed at his brother's obvious pride. "Come over here and tell us your plan." Mikey rolled his eyes and headed towards them.

"Okay, so I thought we'd have our very own residential clowns, Christian and Jake, go in the headquarters, dressed as Clowns, of course."

"Aww... I wanted to dress up." Tre muttered, quietly.

"And they'll report a fake crime that resulted in their guns getting stolen, so no one will ask too many questions."

"How-" Jimmy began.

"SILENCE!" Gerard bellowed. "Continue."

"And you'll have to say you got attacked at the other end of the city, because we'll need the Clowns to be as far away as possible." Mikey said.

"They won't all leave though, will they?" Mike asked.

"No," Mikey answered. "They won't, but a lot of them will go, and that'll give us a window to steal their weapons. Now, we can't exactly just wander around the streets after we've sent dozens of Clowns out to look for suspicious people, so we'll need a different way to get to their headquarters."

"What did you have in mind?" Billie asked.

"The roofs." Mikey answered.

"I like it!" Gerard said, clapping his hands together, loudly.

"How will we get across the roofs, we'd never be able to jump that far." Patrick, a pale strawberry blond kid, asked. Billie thought that must've been the first time he'd ever heard him speak.

"Rope." Mikey said. "There's shit tons of it in the warehouse next to us. We'll tie weights on one end so that we can actually climb across."

"Why can't we just tie it?" Jake asked.

"There won't be anyone _to _tie it. Don't worry, we'll make sure it's safe before we start climbing. It's only two blocks to the headquarters, so it shouldn't take us too long."

"Wait, really?" Billie asked, confused. "Where's their headquarters?"

"The police station." Mikey said, grimly. The irony was not lost on Billie. "And we can sneak in from the roof without being detected. But, as much as I hate to admit it, Mad Max is smart and their guns will probably be in the evidence lockers on the bottom floor."

"Damn." Billie said. "How will we be able to open the lockers?"

"A crowbar should do it."

"How will we get out?" Patrick ventured.

"The basement. The Clowns will be off the streets by then, and Christian and Jake can just walk out once have the guns."

"Yeah, I got a question." Christian shouted, raising his hand.

"Yes?" Mikey asked.

"Why are me and Jake the bait?" He asked.

"You're not, you're leaving after we do. But you two are probably the biggest guys out of all of us, and you'll blend in better."

"Oh, all right. Well, when do you plan on doing all this?" He asked Mikey, curiously.

"Tonight."


	11. Ch 11- Philosophy's a Liar

Billie stood, unmoving, on the gritty rooftop. The wind whistled in between the skyscrapers, and rustled his hair as it reached him. He gazed out over the city, or what was left of it. Nearly half of the buildings had been stripped down, burned, or just simply collapsed. Most of the skyscrapers still stood intact, but the businesses and shops had been ransacked or torched. He remembered the day the Clowns came into the city, burning down any building they didn't think they would need. He remembered looking out from the window of his hotel room, remembered how it looked as though the entire city was on fire.

He glanced down the side of the building, his stomach dropping. He had never been afraid of heights until the Clowns came. How many people had he watched jump to their deaths that day? More afraid of burning alive than of jumping onto the dirty, unforgiving sidewalk. He remembered the sickening crunch they made as they hit the pavement. He remembered his relief as he had closed the manhole cover, when the sound of falling bodies finally stopped. He was horrified, however, that he had to delve nearly twenty feet underground before he stopped hearing their screams.

"Billie?" A soft voice asked. After one last look, he stepped back from the ledge of the building, his stomach lurching. He turned to face Adrienne, her brown eyes sympathetically boring into his, as if she could see the images in his mind. He flashed her a half-assed smile, the best he could muster under the circumstances.

"Mikey said it's time to go," she nodded in the direction of the door. Billie's eyes dropped back to the coil of rope in his hand. He nodded quickly, after running his thumb along the twisted mass. Adrienne smiled calmly at him, stuck her hands in her pockets and headed back the way she had come. He took a deep breath, tried to clear the nagging anxieties at the corners of his mind, and followed her.

Downstairs, an eerie silence hung over the group. Only the bustling of people grabbing duffle bags, jackets, if they had them, and rope, could be heard. The only words spoken were purely instructional, and never more than a muttered phrase. Everyone shuffled about uncomfortably. The tension was suffocating.

"Well," Gerard blurted, abruptly. "Let's get going." Billie looked around the room. Even Christian and Jake appeared to be worried as they gave everyone a nervous wave before heading towards the door, dressed head to toe in their bullshit Clown outfits. The girls had scrambled something together extremely last minute, but it would do. What if it didn't, what if they were spotted immediately, what if... Billie shook his hands, which had begun to tingle. He mentally tried to slow his heart rate down, a panic attack now could spell disaster. He needed to calm down.

He snuck a glance at Adrienne. She only looked mildly concerned, at most. He couldn't understand how she managed to stay so calm. _"She's lived on the streets for months, of course she's calm, she's done this shit before," _Billie mused, following the others up the stairs. They reached the roof after what seemed like both an eternity, and an instant, all at once.

"All right, we just need to wait until we see the Clowns start to run up the street, then we can go," Gerard said, quietly. He leaned slightly over the edge of the roof, placing his arms on the ledge, waiting. Everyone began to meander around a bit, trying their best to look busy. Billie scuffed over to Patrick, who looked determined, although nothing had actually happened yet. He was younger than Billie had realized, his eyes still wide and innocent.

"You nervous?" Patrick asked, a shy smirk evident on his face. Billie grinned, and scratched the back of his head.

"It's just, there's a million things that could go wrong here, I mean, really wrong," Billie sighed, turning to face the younger boy. Patrick looked slightly surprised, his light eyebrows disappearing into his hair.

"They won't, we just gotta stick to the plan," he mumbled, looking out into the city. Billie noticed just how dark it was out there.

"Come on, the plan is sketchy at best. What if Jake and Christian don't even fool the guards, then we're screwed. I don't know, I just don't want anyone to get hurt," Billie trailed off. Patrick smiled at him.

"It'll be okay. I really think everything is gonna go smoothly. Don't worry so much,"

Suddenly, police sirens rang out, and several cop cars came flying out of the garage adjacent to the precinct. Their blue and red lights illuminating the streets that were pitch dark, save for a few street lights here and there. They turned down the road, tires screeching into the distance.

"Go," Gerard said. Everyone gathered up their gear and ran towards the right side of the roof. Billie quickly tied a weight, an old bookend they'd found in one of the offices, to the end of the rope. Knotting the other end around his hand, he heaved the coil of rope across the gap. He felt it snag on the fire escape, and he tugged on it a few times to make sure it was secure. He tied the other end down, triple knotting it. Then, he stood back and watched as Brittney slowly began to crawl across.

"Mike, you go, the rope can hold more than one person at once." Mikey said, nodding after Brittney. Mike walked over, his sneakers squeaking slightly, and crawled after her. Billie followed when Mikey signaled him to go. He flipped himself upside-down, and very slowly began to slide across the rope. He could vaguely hear Mike whisper,

"Nice view from back here," in reference to Brittney. She scoffed.

"Really, you want to hit on me now? I don't think this is the best time." Billie could only imagine the shit-eating grin on Mike's face. Mike had always been the one to worry, and if he was calm enough to be making jokes, then Billie realized he should relax a bit. He began to move faster, his anxiety slowly melting away. Finally, they all reached the fire escape. They signaled the others, and three more began to crawl over. This pattern continued on until they reached the police station. Billie was surprised at how quickly they had made it over. When everyone was there, they quietly opened the door to the roof, and as silently as they could manage, headed inside.

Gerard led the way down the dark halls, mentioning that their best bet would be to take the stairs all the way down the side of the building. Each floor had a label stamped upon its door, the maroon numbers flashing before Billie's eyes as they descended. They had nearly reached the fourth floor, when a loud creak caused them to stop dead in their tracks. They froze as a Clown opened the door, his back to them. He laughed and started to turn around, then suddenly turned back as if someone had called him. The door shut loudly behind him, and Billie let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Gerard hesitated a moment, waiting to see if he was really gone.

"Run." He stated, taking off down the stairs. They sprinted to the bottom floor, the evidence locker. Jimmy put his ear to the door, listening for any movements on the other side. After a moment, he nodded and opened the door, holding it for everyone else. A minuscule gesture that Billie had not expected. Brittney ran immediately to the desk in the corner. After a few seconds of rummaging through its drawers she held up a key, grinning broadly. She unlocked every locker, moving quickly down the wide rows.

"How is she opening all of these?" Billie whispered to Adrienne.

"The master key," she answered, pulling out handguns and shoving them into her bag.

"They just keep it in a drawer?"

"I don't think they were expecting company," she stated, throwing the bag over her shoulder and running back towards the stairwell. Billie had begun to grab boxes of ammo. He furrowed his brow as he looked at what was left in his locker. A box newspapers sat at the bottom. "_Why are these down here?" _He wondered. He grabbed one off the top and shoved into his bag. He'd have time to figure it out later. He tossed his bag to Mike. Billie, Patrick, and Tre were all going to climb back across the ropes, cutting them as they went so that there wouldn't be a trail to follow back to their home. The rest of the group was going out the parking garage exit and making a run for it.

"Tre, let's go!" Billie hissed, slightly harsher than he had meant to. Tre, unfazed, just rolled his eyes and handed Gerard his bag. Mike stopped them, and grimly handed them each a loaded gun. The three of them then bolted out the door and up the stairs, knowing their time was limited. Billie gazed down at the gun in his hands, it felt wrong and foreign. He had next to no idea how to use it, but it was better than being completely unprotected. They reached the roof, and started to shimmy across the rope, the task now doubly hard with a gun in one hand. They had reached the third building, when they heard the sirens. The cruisers had returned far sooner than expected.

Billie's eyes widened as he realized there was no way they'd miss the rope strung up between the buildings. Sure enough, they pulled over. Billie and Tre pressed themselves up against the building, hidden in the shadows. His face dropped when he realized Patrick was still partially visible in the dim streetlight. A second too late, he tried to reach for Patrick, to pull him back. A gunshot cracked through the silence, and Patrick cried out, holding his shoulder, and stumbling backwards over the fire escape. Billie rushed forward, gripping Patrick's arm, and watched in horror as he slipped out of his grasp.


End file.
